Where the Last Man Left Off
by lawless
Summary: A man is born to the world and must start where the last man left off.


**Where the Last Man Left Off**

by _lawless_

* * *

_Taichou_ did not look at all like what the stories told about him. Certainly, he was not as tall, only a couple of feet taller than the boy himself. Not impressive, at all. Why, if _Taichou_ stood among fifty or so men, no one would notice him. But there was something about _Taichou_'s eyes that drew people to him. There was an intensity there, a flame that the boy had never seen in any other man's. Looking at those eyes of his, it was easy to understand why _Taichou_ was _taichou_ and why men like Toda-_san_, who was certainly older, more gruff-looking, the white stubbles of his beard sticking like morsels of rice to his face, bowed and spoke in a polite tone of voice in his presence.

The boy had heard all sorts of stories about _Taichou_. Why, only this morning, while hiding under the stall of the sweets vendor and helping himself to a few _wa-gashi_ (without permission, of course), he had overheard a couple of old folks talking about how the _Sekihoutai_ were camped in Matsuo, along the Tuosan Way, recruiting people to help their cause. They said that the _Dojakon_ had agreed to cut the land taxes in half and that a new era was going to open, one where everyone was equal. Greatly encouraged by this piece of news, farmers from all over the provinces were praising the _Sekihoutai_ as folk heroes and rallied to their side.

Now, the boy, though young, was no impressionable youth. When he heard such grand words spoken as "_Sekishin wo motte kokuon ni hourutame katsuduo suru,_" he had really thought nothing of them. Besides, he had been more interested in the heavenly taste of _manju_ on his tongue at that moment to bother. So it was really just his misfortune when the sweets vendor had chosen that moment to check the underside of his table and discovered him there, and just in the act of popping a piece of _mochi_ into his mouth, too.

The result, of course, had been catastrophic. The vendor had roared like a tiger enraged, his face turning all red and veins popping out in the sides of his forehead as he grabbed the boy by his collar using one burly arm and pulling him out from underneath the table to show him to the world… well, actually just a relatively small group of men who had been walking past the sweets vendor's stall at that precise moment – a group of men that, to the boy's chagrin, had included this man they called _Taichou._ It had seemed they were passing by the small village to gather provisions before going on their way when they happened to witness the whole incident from the moment the vendor caught the boy to the whipping that ensued as punishment.

Against advice from his companions, _Taichou_ had tried to stop the vendor and reasoned with him into letting the boy go. The vendor had refused naturally, prompting _Taichou_ to offer him something he would find difficult to refuse – an object, valuable, the boy supposed from the covetous gleam in the vendor's eyes. If he had not been so shocked, he would have rolled his eyes in disgust. So that was how he ended up here, in the _Sekihoutai_ camp, standing still even as he tried not to scratch the large red whelps on his legs which were beginning to tingle most annoyingly.

_Taichou _and Toda-_san_ were talking about him, if the way the younger of the two kept looking in his direction was any indication. The boy did not mind that so much, not even the low voices they used as though they were afraid he would hear what they were talking about. Really, he knew already and it was not necessary to be subtle about the whole thing. He remembered the exact words used by the sweets vendor when he voiced out the boy's demerits: Incorrigible. Delinquent. Vicious. And he supposed 'brat' may have been slipped in but he couldn't be sure.

No one in his right mind would want a boy with such a catalogue of wickedness such as he. Indeed, his entire life was shameful – from his low birth as the son of a peasant farmer in Shinshuu nearly eight years ago to last week's attempt to beat a boy five years his senior who was a son of _samurai_ to boot! Sometimes, the extent of his audacity surprised even himself.

But none of those were his concern at the moment. _Taichou _could think whatever he wanted; _he_, on the other hand, had more pressing matters to attend to, such as the issue of dinner for instance. There were a few things that a man just couldn't do without in this world. Food was first on his list, and he wondered when _Taichou_ and Toda-_san_ would finish their talk so he could wonder aloud without seeming rude if he could have dinner already. By _kami_, did they even realize the sun had long set?

Finally, the boy got his wish and Toda-_san_ concluded his litany of the boy's past misdeeds. Then, cocking his head to one side and eyeing _Taichou_ smart-like, he commented, "Even you can't make a man out of garbage like that."

But _Taichou_ only smiled faintly at his challenge. "See to the others. I will speak with this one."

The boy watched uneasily as Toda-_san_ rose from his seat, bowed, and left. See to the others? Exactly, what did he _mean_ by that? Did he mean dinner? He felt a spark of hope and tried not to eagerly follow Toda-_san_'s figure moving towards another part of the clearing. Instead, he returned his attention back to _Taichou_, who was watching him quietly as though trying to assess what he was good for, what was his value, particularly in comparison with the treasure he had to part with to "pay" for him.

Finding himself under such intensely watchful gaze, the boy resisted the urge to flinch, swallow, or blink. It was most uncomfortable. And just when he thought this kind of visual torture would never end _Taichou_ finally deigned to speak to him.

He said, "This is not the first time you've stolen items from good people."

The boy snorted. "Well, hell. I can't say they're damned good people."

"So what if they are not? Do they deserve less of your respect because of that?"

_Huh?_

_Taichou_ must have seen the puzzlement on his face because that faint smile of his appeared briefly. Then, he said, "Never mind," and tried a different tactic. "Hasn't anyone told you that stealing is wrong?"

"Fuck, yeah," he replied.

"If it is wrong, why do you do it?"

"_Baka_," he called him but at _Taichou_'s steady gaze, for the first time he felt embarrassed. "Because," he hesitated, "because…I'm fucking hungry and I fucking like _wa-gashi!_ What's it to you, _oyaji_?" He finished defiantly.

"Ah," _Taichou_ said as though that explained everything. "And you are how old, little one?"

"Twelve," he lied.

"Hmm. You seem too short for a boy of twelve."

He frowned and pointed out rudely, "You're not so tall yourself, _baka yarou_."

For some reason, this made _Taichou_ laugh out loud. "True," he acquiesced. "Now," he added, turning serious once again. "You must have heard what Toda-_san_ and I were talking about." He raised his hand when the boy started to protest, saying, "Don't deny it. I was watching you the whole time. You have eyes that tell a lot of things. It was obvious to me that you were curious, though not exactly about the subject of our discussion." Another smile, and then he continued, "There is one part of your story I am very interested in. That part about the son of _samurai_, little one, and don't leave anything out."

The boy bit down on his own tongue in an effort to stop himself from licking his lips. Nasty business that one. He still bore the scar that the boy's father gave him after his men found out it was him. Glaring up at _Taichou_'s eyes, he bit out, "They said I was lucky to get out of it with my head still attached to my neck. Well, I say to them…_I_ say to them that the little _ahou_ was lucky he only got one loose teeth because I sure was aiming for all of them."

_Taichou_ stared at him, then said quietly, "What happened?" And his voice held no note of accusation. He was not rendering judgment.

Sensing this, the boy sobered and stared down at his own two feet. When he spoke again, he sounded calm. "There's this stupid girl in the village. She used to come play by the river, usually with her stupid sisters, but that time she went alone, and the _samurai_'s son…the _samurai_'s son, he was waiting there, hiding behind a tree. I saw him because I was gonna catch frogs, see? And this stupid girl, she was crying '_okaa-san! okaa-san!'_ But nobody was coming…." His voice trailed off.

_Taichou_ leaned back in his hunches and said, "I see." A long moment passed, before he spoke again, "And yet you willingly let yourself be punished without protest. You did not even deny beating the boy up."

"I'm not a fucking coward."

"No," _Taichou_ said. "No, you're not, are you?"

The boy stared at him defiantly, expecting the man to give him a patronizing smile. But instead of that, he found that _Taichou_ was serious when he said, "You have good judgment for one so young, yet you rarely use it. You have strength and you misuse it. You speak truth but your words are crude. Is there anything that I missed?"

"_Hai_," the boy said, grinning impishly. "You forgot uncanny intelligence and godly bearing, _oyaji_."

"_So ka_. I may have forgotten arrogant," _Taichou_ conceded with an ironic twist of his mouth. "But all that doesn't matter," he said after a moment. "What matters are the things you will learn. I will not force you to stay. The choice is yours and you are not indebted to me. If you decide to leave, I will let you and you will walk out of here without loss. However, if you stay and you work hard, you will have achieved a position of some honor in society. You will become a part of us and when the war is over, you will have been one of those esteemed few who helped open the new era to the rest of our country folks." His eyes were focused on the boy the whole time as he finished, "It is your choice."

The boy swallowed and tried to quiet his whirling thoughts. What _Taichou_ offered was most superb. The alternative was the life he was currently leading, which lacked excitement and luster, and most importantly, meaning. At first, it did not matter to him, because he thought he had no choice. But now that the chance was given him, why not take it? There were only a few things that a man could not live without. Food, first. And perhaps, he glanced at _Taichou_, remembering all the stories told about him yet again, a cause worth fighting for?

"I will stay, _Taichou,_" he said.

"So quick?" The older man asked, blinking at him in surprise. "This is no small matter, you know."

"I want to stay, _Taichou._"

"Then, all right, but if you have questions…."

"Actually, I have one question, _Taichou_."

"Ask."

"When will dinner be served? I'm starving."

(owari.)

* * *

**Author's Notes:**

Digged this up among my old files. I don't believe I've uploaded this on FF before.


End file.
